A String of Events lead to a Blossoming Love
by Lovelywitch
Summary: IYYYH The Reikai team was going to fight in The Dark Tournament again. But who would be the fifth man? No one expected Hiei came up with a possible name, let a lone a fullblooded demon. And who was the woman that cheered for Hiei and the team? KurKag
1. First impression

**Disclaimer: **Duh, of course I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakuso, or else I would be counting money at the moment.

**Summary: **IYYYH The Dark Tournament was coming again. The Reikai team was going to fight again. But who would be the fifth man? No one expected Hiei came up with a possible name, let a lone a full-blooded demon. And who was the woman that cheered for Hiei and the team? KurKag.

_**Uhm, okay. This is my first crossover fanfic. I like IYYYH one because of the similarities of them (IY's world and YYH's world) and the surprising truth they usually hold. If you've read one or two stories about the meeting between Kagome and the Reikai team through some demons, Shippo, family bonds, ect… you will know what I mean. And now, enjoy our first chapter. **_

'Youko's thought'

'_Kurama's thought_'

'_Hiei's thought_'

**Chapter 1:**** First impression at the Dark Tournament**

Kurama walked to the park near his house, deep in thought. The Dark Tournament was coming again and as the current champion, their team was the honor guests, in other words, they had to take part in the fight. However, they were having a small problem. Okay, maybe not a very small problem. As usual, the rule required at least five members of every team. The Reikai team was four immediate members, but who would fight as the fifth man? Definitely not Genkai since she had refused before Yusuke'd even had the chance to ask. Jin and the others were going to form their own team to fight against them, thus they were also out of option. Not only that, but the matter seemed worse when he was the only one thought over it. Yusuke, at matter of fact, didn't think of it as a problem. Maybe he thought that someone would descend from heaven to help them. Kuwabara actually tried to think of any problem, and as usual, came up with some dumb problem and even dumber solutions. Hiei? Nah, he might just threatened to kill anyone objected to him fighting. With that thought in mind, it was a surprise when he came to the park and was informed that their fifth member was on his way. And it came along with a much more surprising fact that the hybrid was the one who dragged this man, no demon, to their team.

------_**Flashback**_-----------

"Hey guys, we have a problem," stated Kurama after the normal greetings.

"What is it, Kurama?" asked Kuwabara in a worried voice.

"We don't have five members for our team, so we might be disqualified from the beginning."

"What? I don't want to be disqualified just because of a stupid rule. Maybe we should ask Genkai for help", Kuwabara suggested, ever the latest to know everything.

"Nah, I've already asked the old hag, but she refused," answered the Toushin.

"The dumbass really can't come up with any solution, as always", said Hiei from a high branch above, not missed a chance to mock Kuwabara.

"At least I try to help, unlike you."

"Help is when you can actually solve the problem, trying means nothing."

"As if you can. I don't see you give us any name. I doubt you know anyone beside some fellow on the demon wanted list."

Before Hiei could retort and kept their argument going forever, Kurama asked again: "So, back to the matter at hand, any of you know someone who can fight in our team?" Even though he asked every one, Kurama didn't expect an answer because the fighters Yusuke and Kuwabara knew were mostly human with no spiritual energy so they couldn't stand a chance and Hiei, well, he wasn't exactly the type Kurama would call 'sociable'. That why Kurama was surprised when Hiei spoke: "That's hardly a problem, fox."

"What do you mean, Hiei?"

"He's on his way."

"You mean our fifth fighter?"

"Hn"

"Who's he? Is he good?", asked an impatient Yusuke.

"…"

------_** End of Flashback**_-----------

From that point, Hiei didn't let loose a word about the mysterious man, no matter how many times Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama himself asked. He simply told them to come to the harbour and their new teammate would be waiting there for them. Nonetheless, they had managed to annoy Hiei enough that the hybrid had to tell them that they were going to fight along side with a full-blooded youkai, a kitsune to be specific. That had caught Yusuke and Kuwabara off guard. They had made a fuss, something about 'there was no way an A class demon were going to help them, unless he was insane or this was a trap'. They even asked whether or not this demon was on the most wanted list like Hiei and Kurama or if he tried to come to Ningenkai and get caught, therefore had to work for Koenma. Something they said had ticked Hiei off, most likely one of Kuwabara insult, for the fire apparition had Kuwabara by his throat in less than a second. His red eyes glowed menacingly and he said in so low a voice that Kurama's sensitive hearing barely caught his words: "He's a noble. Don't ever insult him again, or I'll cut your throat, idiot." Now that surely made him surprised. Hiei knew an A class demon, a noble at that, well enough that he would defend him? And how many A class kitsune belonged to the aristocracy society that would agree to fight with humans, traitors (although he didn't think himself as one), Forbidden child that he knew of? Not many, or dare he said, not any. Well, it looked like he had to wait and figured out this puzzle. This would surely make the tournament all the way more interesting.

**One month later**

The day they got to meet their fifth man had come. Needless to say, everyone, except Hiei, was very excited. They decide to meet at Genkai's temple then went to the harbour together. Kurama, ever the perceptive one, noticed the imperceptible stiffness of Hiei posture, showed him the fire apparition's anticipation, or maybe nervousness. True to Hiei's words, the mysterious kitsune had already been there and was currently waiting for them, with his back facing their way. He was a tall kitsune, with long auburn hair tied back in a high pony tail by a blue ribbon. He stood straight, head held high. His aura screamed power, pride and anything required of a Demon Lord.

"Shippo", greeted the hybrid, for the first time mentioned the kitsune's name.

The demon, now known as Shippo, turned around with a grin on his face, effectively erased any image of a stoic lord. His mischievous emerald eyes sparkled made Kurama realized how happy he was to see one of his kind in the modern day. Caught in his musing, Kurama didn't see the surprises coming their way. Apparently, Shippo had plenty of those and he was about to presented some, instead of normal greeting.

"Hello, as you've known, my name's Shippo. I'm a nine-tailed fox demon," he began to introduce himself, earning a few gasps from his audience, "nice to meet you all. You must be Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara. I've heard Hiei talked about you," he continued to talk, in spite of Hiei's glare as being the receiving end of three curious pairs of eyes," and don't look at me like that, Hiei nii-chan, I know you love me." He ended his speech with a wide grin at everyone flabbergasted appearance.

After five minute of silence, the announcement of the ship's departure pulled them back to reality. Shippo said cheerfully: "Now now, close your mouths everyone or you'll catch flies. And we should get going if we want to take part in the tournament. By the way, nii-chan, she said she would come and cheer for us." The effect of his sentence was almost immediately. Hiei growled, cursed, groaned all as the same time (if one could do that) and yelled:"What does that woman think she is doing? What do you think let her do that?"

"Well, you know how she is. Do you think I can stop her when she sets her mind on doing something?" Shippo answered calmly as five of them arrived on board.

"No, foolish woman" replied an irritated Hiei, who started to kill the demons to take out his frustration.

"If you don't mind, may I ask who are you two talking about?" asked a confused Kurama.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to leave you out. But you will understand once you see her. About their relationship, just ask Hiei or maybe she can tell you herself. But it's not my story to tell"

"I see. I'm impressed that someone could make Hiei become so…expressive."

"Watch your tongue, fox" shouted Hiei, somewhere on the boat, "I can hear you."

"Which one?" asked two amused and equally mischievous boys simultaneously, further annoyed Hiei.

"Both"

"I started to like you, Shippo. Not many, human or demon, who can tease Hiei and get away with it alive." chimed in an enthusiastic Yusuke, while delivering a kick to a demon and a punch to another.

"Then you should see what Kagome can do. Beside, my brother is a sweet heart under all that cold façade" Shippo grinned, made everyone almost fainted.

'_Well, this Shippo is very amusing. I like him. He is definitely a kitsune. No one else would put Hiei and sweet heart in one sentence.__'_

'_I must agree with you this time, Youko_'

'And I must say you're taking too much fun in this situation', complained Hiei, finishing the last demon.

'_But you can't say that wasn't fun. It's rare to come across one such as him. And it looks like he comes along with many surprises, too. Very interesting_'

'Hn…'

'_I think Youko is right. And by the way Shippo spoke, I can see that this Kagome has kept you in a tight leash_'

'I think you spend too much time with Youko, Kurama'

'_Hey, what do you mean by that?_'

'…'

'_Fine, be that way then._'

When Hiei and Kurama finished their "talk", all the demons on the ship, excluding the captain, had been killed. The captain, even though he'd already known that team Urameshi would be the last ones standing, couldn't help but marveling at their strength. It seemed they kept getting stronger than the last time he saw them. And not to mention they always had famous members somehow: the Reikai Team, Genkai, Koenma, and now a full-blooded demon. Although this new members hadn't performed anything yet, his aura showed his great power that not many had obtained since the feudal era. If this demon was who the captain thought he was then this tournament was definitely worth watching. For all those year doing his duty as the contestants' deliverer, this was one of a few times he felt like watching the certainly interesting upcoming matches. Maybe he could try and ask the committee for a VIP ticket.

When the ship arrived at their destination, the five went straight to their hotel. Hiei was still in his come-near-me-and-I-will-kill-you mood so Shippo checked in for the both of them, bid the others goodbye then went to their room while dragging a grimly looking Hiei behind. The remaining detectives could only sweatdrop at the swift retreat. Kurama was the first one snapped back to normal, said: "Well, _that_ certainly was weird."

"You bet," grumbling Yusuke while followed their example and went back to his room. Kurama quickly followed him. And that left Kuwabara, who didn't come back to the real world after five more minutes had passed. "Hey, where did everyone go?"

**The next day**

Kurama was the first one to wake up, or so he thought, if one doesn't count Hiei. Hardly anyone had seen Hiei asleep before, apart from the time he had to recover after using all his energy in the Dragon of the Darkest Flame attack (?) so it didn't really mattered. He came to the living room assigned for their team and see another funny sight. Shippo had given Hiei a box contained home-made cooking from Kagome and was currently persuading him to eat it. Hiei, on the other hand, refused to eat in front of the others, a.k.a the other SD. And it seemed like all of Hiei's misdeeds in the past had come for revenge since right as that moment, Yusuke and Kuwabara burst into the room while fighting with each other. They came to an abrupt stop at the sight and one second later they were on the ground, laughing their head off like hyenas. That served to annoyed, and dare Kurama said, humiliated Hiei even more. Before the fire apparition attacked the two, Kurama stepped in: "We must hurry up, the fight is about to start in thirty minutes". That seemed to have pulled everyone back to normal.

"Shit, why didn't you say it earlier?" complaint Yusuke, all the while dashing to find something to eat.

After the morning fiasco, the whole team arrived at the arena twenty minute early. On their way, they heard some rumors that the Western Lords and his escorts were the honor guest of this year Tournament. To Kurama, and even Youko (who had waken up after hearing the news), this tournament just had to be full of surprises. Every demons knew that right now, Makai was divided into four parts: one was ruled by Mukuro, one by Yomi and one by Raizen. Those three parts were now under the rule of Enki. But not many knew of how the current ruler of the far west part of Makai where all the ancient youkai, mostly from Sengoku Jidai, resided, looked like. He was famous for his cold, ruthless reputation and his tolerance for hanyous. Nowadays, demons looked down on hanyous less than ever before, however, because of their disadvantage in strength compared to that of a full-blooded demon, half-bread tended to be picked on or killed on sight. The Western land was the only place could be deem as peaceful and safe for hanyou. Even though the Western Lord was very well-known, demons of all kind had to shiver in fear at the mention of his name, there were a few demons actually knew him personally. He was said to be very handsome, more like beautiful, with a blue crescent moon on his forehead, two magenta stripes on each cheek and a god like figure. He was an upper S-class demon like Raizen, but unlike the former ruler, he wasn't weakened due to lack of human meat, for he didn't eat any to begin with. But truth to be told, to one really knew what he looked like, for he hadn't come out of his land since the establishment of the barrier between three worlds and any ignorant demons who challenged him had never come back alive to tell others of his appearance.

'So what made the Western Lord came to the tournament this year? He apparently wasn't fond of violence like others and he hadn't come to any of the previous tournaments, why now? Do you think he might want to watch someone in this tournament?'

'_I don't know. But I think that someone must be powerful or closed to him enough that he has gone through all the troubles to come here._'

Then Kurama caught one part of Hiei and Shippo's conversation, which answered all of his unasked question.

"Why didn't you tell me _they_ are coming?" hissed Hiei.

"I thought you'd already known that _they_ would never let her come to a place full of demons like this on her own," Shippo answered while trying in vain to hide his grin.

'Oh, it looks as though we have acquired another infamous member.'

'_And I think Hiei had more connections than we thought._'

'I just can't wait to see this Kagome person. She is definitely an important person for the Western Lord had to escort her himself.'

A glance at Hiei confirmed Youko's theory. His lips curved upward, the telltale sigh of an unnoticeable smile, which only reserved for Yukina. Another sister, perhaps? All they could do was just wait and see.

At the whole team came through their respective door, the arena seemed like exploded into demon's shouting, verbal abusing,… It seemed like team Urameshi was still their _beloved_, after all. However, this time, at the most safe place in the arena (or least dangerous, to be exact, since nowhere in this place could be clarified as safe), sat some of their _fans_. Their supposed fanclub consisted of Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, Yukina, Genkai, Koenma and George. But, much to Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama's astonishment, next to Koenma was a very beautiful woman, appeared to be a human. She had long raven hair, porcelain skin and her eyes had the deepest sapphire colour Kurama had ever seen. They reminded Youko of the most valuable orbs he had in his collection back in his golden days. She sat next to Koenma, who was in his teenager form, the ruler of Sprit World was trying to impress her, in vain. On her other side was some significant demons. One of them was a woman, with red eyes, long black hair held in an elaborated bun, her hands were holding a fan elegantly. Another was a hanyou with silver hair and a red haori. Next to him was a woman, who was remarkably resemblance the first woman, but under closer observation, one could make out many different between the two. This woman was human too, with brown eyes, longer dark hair tied in a low pony tail and a more serious expression, not as carefree as the other. And last but not least, if Kurama was correct in his assumption, the demon sat next to next to the that conspicuous woman was the Western Lord, the Sesshoumaru. The rumors had been true, this demon had an intimidating aura and that was most likely what kept the demon, other than his group, at bay. Nonetheless, the woman, later was known as Kagome, paid no mind to him. Her excitement could easily be detected from where Kurama stood. And she seemed to spot them as well.

"Do your best, Shippo-chan, Hiei-chan," she yelled.

Hearing that, Yusuke and Kurama had another fits of laughter that they could barely stand on their feet. Really, it might worth all the hardship they had went through to live till the day to see _Hiei-chan_ being cheered for by a petty woman. Even Kurama couldn't hide his smile, and it turned into chuckle while the other two decided that they weren't capable of standing on their feet anymore when Hiei gave them murderous glares filled with annoyance, and perhaps, embarrassment.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………__

_**So, what do you think of Kagome and Kurama's first meeting, everyone? I hope you enjoyed it. I will do this story at a string of oneshots, about their second, third, ect… meeting. Their love will blossom, and if I am as creative as I think I am, the story will have an ending that meet your heart content. **_

_**Next time:**_


	2. First conversation

**Disclaimer: **Duh, of course I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakuso, or else I would be counting money at the moment.

**Summary: **IYYYH The Dark Tournament was coming again. The Reikai team was going to fight again. But who would be the fifth man? No one expected Hiei came up with a possible name, let a lone a full-blooded demon. And who was the woman that cheered for Hiei and the team? KurKag.

_**Hello, everyone. Thank you for all of your reviews. I've made sure to reply to all of your encouraging words for they mean very much to me. 24 hours after posting the first chapter, I'd received 5 reviews, more than five people had asked me to their favourite/alert list. I know it isn't much compare to the other IY or IYYYH but this is more than I expect. So, this chapter is dedicated to all of you, my dear readers. Now, without any further ado, let's the show begin!**_

'Youko's thought'

'_Kurama's thought_'

'_Hiei's thought_'

**Chapter 2:**** First meeting after the matches**

Not until the referee called forth the captains of both teams did the laughing session stop. They agreed to fight one on one, which team had more victories would be the winner. This was the preliminary of the Tournament so their opponents weren't very tough. Although Kuwabara did get a nasty cut, due to his underestimation of the ugly crow youkai. Kurama and Hiei eliminated their opponents mercilessly. To everyone knew him, Hiei seemed to be more aggressive than usual and Kurama could only guessed that the reason was that mysterious woman. Yusuke also had a quick battle. And just as Hiei said, Shippo made a spectacular show of power when going against a thunder youkai. Therefore, the Urameshi team went straight to the quarter final. They left in the stunned silence caused by Shippo show. Until Koto said:" That Urameshi team for you, folk, always consisted of powerful and famous fighters. Though I wonder who that kitsune is. I've never heard of him before. Such strength he has must have made him a famous fighter. I wonder when we will have the pleasure of knowing his identity."

The rest of her speech was listened with half an ear for at that moment, the impressive Lord and his escorts, or as Youko would put it, the breathtakingly ravishing woman and her escorts made their way through the crowd effortlessly due to the intimidating presences of the inu taiyoukai. The demons automatically stepped aside, their instincts told them to take flight instead of fight for they stood no chance against the demon lord. The closer the strange group came near them, the more tensed the detectives (minus Hiei) became. Even Kuwabara and Yusuke knew to keep their mouth shut. Their unusual silence caused the girls walking before those demons and the seemingly human woman great confusion. It wasn't everyday they saw demons kept out of their way and it was definitely once in a life time to see the boys didn't fight with each other like the children they were. The only people who seemed to share the boys' discomfort were Koenma and Genkai and that was understandable. After all, whoever had just a little amount of spiritual awareness and paid attention could practically taste the power emitted from the group (however, Kurama had to wonder why Botan acted like nothing happening and continued to chat animatedly with the young woman like old friends. Or maybe they are?).

Just as the tension grew so thick that one could easily cut it with a knife (while Hiei and Shippo just stood by and watched in amusement, not even made an attempt to ease it, much to Kurama's irritation), the woman stopped the conversation, smiled brilliantly and ran straight into Hiei's arms:" Hiei chan, I've missed you so much. Why didn't you tell me you're going to participate in the tournament? If it hadn't been for Shippo, I wouldn't have known anything about it," she said with a pout, purposely ignored Shippo's pout under Hiei's glare, "and I had to drag Sesshou here too. You knew he would be grumpy, right?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed so slightly that if it hadn't been for Youko's observant skills, Kurama would have missed it. The Lord of the West said, for the first time, in an icy voice that could easily make an A class demon turned around and take flight but did nothing to face the woman: "This Sesshoumaru are not grumpy. Who knows what trouble you would find yourself in if you are out of my sight, miko."

Kurama could barely contain his surprise after hearing the shocking declaration.

'Well well, look at what we have here. A miko's on friendly term with demons, half-breds, hybrids, humans **and** being protected by _the_ Western Lord. Interesting. She might worth our time, after all we've gone for too long without a good puzzle."

'_You're treading on dangerous ground, fox. Sesshoumaru can be more than ruthless when it comes to her. Neither will Shippo, Inu Yasha nor Kouga let any malevolent creature, demon or not, come near her. And I would kill you before you even thought about harming her._'

'Well, that was intense.'

'_I must agree with you about that. What makes Hiei so worked up anyway?_'

'Hmm, if he thinks he could make me change my mind with that empty threat, he'd better think again. But why does they are so protective of a human, anyway? The half-bred is understandable, since his own woman is a human but the Demon Lords? Yes, Kurama, I said Lords. The Kouga Hiei had just mentioned, from what I've heard, must be the Wolf Prince of the Eastern tribe. He is one of a few S class demons in Makai who could hold his own against the current rulers in a fight, and he is also one of a few demons from Feudal Era who's had some not-so-friendly encounters with the Western Lord and still lives after that.'

'_If what you're telling is true, and from the rumor we've heard, it's impossible for this woman to have met any of them, let alone have them treated her like a precious treasure, unless she is from the Feudal Era, but there are still too many loopholes in that theory. And we didn't count the affection and overprotectiveness Hiei had towards her, almost like Yukina, if not more. And the fact that she is a miko can't be overlooked, either. Isn't miko supposed to be extinct long ago after the establishment of the barrier for there is no need of them anymore?_'

Before Youko could answer back, they heard Hiei said things that could possibly stop Yusuke from heading straight to a fight when he was facing of a strong opponent, and that said a lot. Kurama couldn't help but let out a gasp, followed by something suspiciously sounded like someone fainting (most likely Kuwabara)

"Okaa san, you know better than come to a place filled with demons like this, even if you are a miko and you have A & S class demon escorts. You know I am not a baby anymore and you don't have to watch every move of mine," Hiei said with a sigh.

"Yeah, and the last time I let you go on your own, you just have to go and steal a stupid sword due to Inu Yasha's idiotic dare," said half-bred seemed to shrink away under her glare, "then get caught and became a SD. Although I can't say it's a bad thing," she snorted

Looking around him to find the others looked like fishes out of water, Kurama composed himself immediately. 'Didn't want to look like them,' Youko commented dryly. And surprisingly, or maybe not, Yusuke was the first one found his voice.

"Oi, what do you mean Hiei? I thought your mother was a koorime? And what is a miko?" This time it was Shippo who answered them:" Mikos are priestess, whose job is to purify demons and protect human."

"My name's Kagome Higurashi. It's a pleasure to meet you guys. And I also am Hiei's adopted mother, as well as Shippo's," the young woman, now known as Kagome, introduced herself with a bright smile.

"What? You're kidding, right? Here I thought that Hiei hates humans, with his '_I'm superior to those weak, useless humans_' and all that crap, you know," exclaimed Yusuke exaggeratedly, earning a chuckle from the kitsune beside Hiei.

"Yes, I know what you mean. I personally think that he's spent too much time with Sesshou here," Kagome continued chatting with Yusuke animatedly, paying the two demons no heed,"I think he rubbed off on Hiei."

'Red, this is bad'

'_What is it, Youko?_'

'Look, our miko can call two Lords of Makai by name, or nick name, without suffix. They might even have a much more intimate relationship than we've expected and they can be very protective of her, knowing ookami and inu's nature, S class demons or not. It could prove to be an obstacle to our pursuing.'

'_Hey, slow down. Since when have she become our miko? And I've never said anything about trying to woe her, either. She could've had someone special for all we know._'

In Kurama's mind, Youko was having a posture resembled that of a child having his candy taken. Yes, the legendary Youko Kurama was sulking in a corner of his avatar's mind. However, he still wouldn't give up: 'But there has never been any woman who had been on the receiving end of my charm and still able to reject me after that. Don't tell me you do not want her either, for I'm you and I know you better than anyone else. There is no mark on her so it's safe to assume that no one has claimed her, yet.'

Mentally restrained himself from rolling his eyes out of aggravation, Kurama grudgingly admitted to himself that Youko was right. The miko was an enigma, and if she was able to befriend with half-bred, hybrid and ruthless demons then she would have no qualm about a kitsune avatar. Beside, anyone had the capability to tolerate Hiei and Shippo, wasn't chased away by Yusuke's rudeness and could stand her own ground in the presence of this many S class demons, especially when she was a miko, must be something. So, Kurama decide to make his first move.

"I'm Kurama, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kagome," he said sultrily while gently kissed her hand. However, he wasn't prepared for what coming after that. Almost simultaneously, the half-bred, the inuyoukai and Hiei started to growl at him, the women in the strange group giggled, Shippo laughed hysterically, his friends stared at his him nervously while Kagome merely sighed (this actions baffled Youko much more than he ever dared to admit, after all, like they both had agreed, no one and he meant _no one_ had ever sighed at the sight of his charm before) and simply said, more to herself than the others:

"Oh, this is great. Another kitsune with too much charm and temptation for his own good. Why do I always encounter youkai with god-like appearance? Is this another joke of fate?"

Quickly gaining back his calm, Kurama asked: "May I ask why you seemed to have many experiences with demons, especially kitsune, my lady?"

Kurama saw a mischievous gleam in her eyes but it disappeared too quickly so he shrugged it off, thinking it was just his imagination. If only he knew how wrong he was.

"Ah, but that's something for us to know and for you to find out. Do you not love puzzles, my dear kitsune?" she replied with a just as, if not more, smooth voice like his own. Somewhere in the background, Kurama could hear Yusuke's faint whistle, Hiei's snicker and Shippo's barely audible whisper: "See, I told you she would reply that way". But Youko and Kurama, although reluctant to admit it himself, could care less.

Youko purred: 'She is very good, Red. I say we start our charming mode now.'

'_I didn't know we have a charming mode, Youko. And don't start your usual lines again or we will never see her again. I need more information before deciding my action course so do not disturb me._'

A series of painfully vivid image of him and Kagome in his bed, with some moment of a happy married life was presented to him, courtesy of Youko almost made Kurama tumbling. Fortunately, a clap brought Kurama out of his _heated_ conversation with Youko to see Kagome smiled brightly at everyone (but Youko insisted that her smile was reserved for him):"Okay, I think we should carry on our introduction in a more suitable, less crowded place, don't you think? We are causing traffic jam." And that was true. The demons had started to poured out of the arena in order get home were too scared to pass them. They couldn't go back due to the crowd behind but didn't have the gut to go on so…you can easily image the rest. It was quite a sight! Kurama, if it hadn't been for his logical sense, really tempted to try stay and see when they would gather enough courage. However, his priority was not such a childish act. So, instead of stalling behind like Yusuke were doing, he walked briskly after the mysterious woman, intended to find more about her.

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_**So, what do you think, everyone? I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you spare sometime to review and let me know if you have any ideas. I won't ask for a certain number of reviews to update, because knowing my laziness, I might not be able to update as soon as I promise. However, the more the better. Hope you like the chapters so far and don't forget to **__**reviews**_

_**Next time:** First insights and understandings_


	3. First insight and understanding

Disclaimer: Duh, of course I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakuso, or else I would be counting money at the moment

_Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews. And sorry for the lateness. There were some readers even pointed out my mistake. Therefore, I dedicate this chapter for all my wonderful reviewers, especially __Kittenn1011, who gave me many useful tips. Now, enjoy the new chapter and tell me what you think._

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………_**.**_

'**Youko's thought**'

'_Kurama's thought_'

'_**Hiei's thought**_'

**Chapter 3:** **First insight and understanding**

A week had passed since the meeting of two equally strange parties, one consisted of a toushin, a kitsune avatar, apparitions, humans (highly spiritual aware and not), grim reaper and a junior ruler. The other had powerful demon lords, a hanyou, mikos and over 500 year-old human (or so it seemed). It was hard to say which group was weirder. After all, it was not an every day occurrence to see a forbidden child associated with others (however strange they were) nor did one often see those of such high caliber as demon lords protected a human as fiercely as their own blood and kin, let alone a miko.

After a patience testing time when they had to try their hardest to follow an allusive conversation, filled with riddles, unanswered questions and double meaning words between Kagome and Kurama (courtesy of Youko), the Yu Yu gang finally got their new friends' names, as well as their briefings.

As they had already known from the rumors, the inu taiyoukai with a velvet crescent moon on his forehead was Lord Sesshoumaru of the mystic Western land. Anyone who had known him for more than 500 years would say that he had changed a lot. Although the stoic lord still kept his silver hair long and wore the pristine white kimono which accentuated his godlike elegance greatly, his amber eyes were more expressive (not that anyone could tell) and he was much less arrogant, overbearing and ruthless (quote from Kagome).

The hanyou, unsurprisingly, was none other than Lord Sesshoumaru's younger half brother, Inu Yasha. Although he had human blood flowed inside, no one could deny the power he held. The old folks in Makai still remembered vividly the legend of the Great Battle between a heroic hanyou (who always dressed in a red haori made from fire rat fur and carried around an oversized sword which could kill a thousand demons in one strike and his blood rage could make an A class demon choose to flight instead of fight) and his friends against the most terrifying, manipulative, evil hanyou had ever walked Japan. In some area in the West territory, there were still places barren of trees that were said to have been the battle field of the final showdown between the courageous heroes and the worst terrorist of all time.

Along side InuYasha stood a miko named Kikyou. The strange thing was, according to Youko's memory, that was the name of the first Guardian of the Shikon no tama, a troublesome jewel used to bring mayhem all over Japan. Could it be that they were the same miko? But if it was true, how come she lived till this day? There has never been any method known to be able to prolong human life up to half a millennium, even if he or she mated or made a blood bond with a taiyoukai. Then there were the wind witch Kagura, Lord Sesshoumaru's mate, a renowned kaze youkai of unknown origin who even had a better control of the wind than Jin - the wind master. There was nothing could remain hidden from her, for the wind was her ears, it just seemed to whisper to her the latest news, rumors or not.

However, other than these B class information, which were not a piece of cake but neither were they hard to find., the Reikai Tantei, minute one, still had one too many unanswered questions. Under which circumstance did the miko meet the youkai lords? How did she meet a demon in the first place and have her power trained for that matter? How did Kagome come to adopt Shippo and Hiei? It must have been a long time ago for Hiei was at least five centuries old, minus one or two decades. And that led to the golden question: How old was Kagome? That was only the first part of the SDs' to ask list. Theories after theories, hypotheses after hypotheses, there was still no logic answer. To make things more complex, Kagome's peculiar easy acceptance and her unprejudiced attitude to every and all kinds of creature she came across was thrown into the mess, further more confused the gang, especially Kurama. Should she be anyone else but Hiei's surrogated mother, Kurama would have questioned her easy going nature and the naivety which seemed to be radiated from her very person. There was no way she could have seen as much bloodshed as one should have to be worthy of standing on even ground with Lord Sesshoumaru and still maintained that innocence. Again, those led to the questions "how" and "why" and there were still no satisfied answer.

Contrary to Kurama's belief, Youko went for the theory that Kagome was much more to the Lords than a ward. She seemed to be the heart of the party, the keeper of their bonds. There was something, other than the protective instincts towards pack members that every youkai possessed, compelled her powerful escorts to be all the more aggressively possessive of her and extreme wary of strangers than normal. The infamous team Urameshi would vividly remember the particular following events occurred after their first introduction to the conspicuous woman.

_After everyone had decided to come back to the hotel they were staying at, suddenly, Hiei's Jagan opened and started to scan the crowd. As if on cue, Sesshoumaru deliberately came forwards with Kagura hang loosely on his arm, Inuyasha and Shippo stepped backwards while the other woman, presumably the hanyou's mate, stood by Kagome's side, continue to chat away with each other like nothing unusual happened. There was no need for Kurama's discerning mind to see that they had formed a circle around the miko, with Hiei acted as their eagle's eyes. Whereas the change was subtle enough to slip through their human companions, it didn't escape the group's fighters and Koenma's notice, although the Reikai ruler and his assistant, though becoming tense, didn't act all that surprised. Not wanting to admit that he was just as confused and clueless as Yusuke, Kurama opted to engage himself in a conversation with his other half. _

_'__Such a strong shield. I wonder what Hiei saw that makes they act like that.__'_

_'_**Nah, he is just being paranoid, that's all.**_'_

_And as if to prove Youko was wrong, out of nowhere, a sickle came flying at them, or at Kagome to be precise. Having been prepared, InuYasha unsheathed the rusty sword on his side, and before their new friends' astonished eyes, it transformed into an oversized sword. He then used it to swatted the sickle away effortlessly. Luckily, they had moved into the forest so no innocent demon (if there is one) or human would get involved. Then they heard him shouted: __"Whatever you want, just came out, Kohaku!"_

_A boy wearing a black tight-fitted armor stepped out from behind the trees. He was about twelve years old, judging by his appearance. However, he had eyes filled with centuries worth of pain and suffering, vengeance and lost, anger and hatred, even malice and madness. The emotions in his eyes greatly affected Kuwabara, making the later take two steps back. Especially when his voice gave the girls shivers for it was emotionlessly monotonous:_

"_It has been a long time. My master wishes to send the miko, as well as my beloved sister and dear brother in law and all of you his regard. Know that this is only the first of our many encounters in the near future and this time, he will come out the victor."_

_As soon as he finished speaking, Shippo calmly flicked his wrist: "Fox fire", a bluish flame came from his palm and burned the boy alive, if one could call burning a puppet as such. It seemed the fact that the boy was actually a wooden puppet came as no surprise to the strange group, as they merely walked away, albeit more guarded than before, without looking back. It was only when Hiei and InuYasha reappeared with blood covered clothes, did Kurama and the other realize they had left. Apparently the vivid display of Shippo's flame had stunned everyone, even the infamous Youko Kurama, into oblivion._

"_We've got rid of the obstacles. Obviously, they're not meant to do us any harm, only a warm welcome," InuYasha had said while Hiei only made a sound of approval. Later that day, when escorting the girls on a walk in a clearing at the edge of the woods, the Reikai tantei came to an understanding of what InuYasha had dubbed 'warm welcome' and 'meant to not do any harm'. The whole clearing was immersed in blood. Demon corpses were everywhere and there were many cracks on the ground, as if someone had tried to cut it in half. Looking for an explanation from Hiei, all they received was an arrogant smirk: "We're, after all, the living legend." No wonder he had insisted on Yukina not coming with them. Conniving bastard!_

After that walk, everyone had come back to the hotel and since then, nothing interesting about the mysterious group had been discovered, not until the day before the second round.

That was the day Urameshi team gathered in Shippo and Hiei's room (somehow it was the largest, almost as twice as Yusuke and Kuwabara's room) to discuss their next opponents. Kagome was also there, along with Lord Sesshoumaru and his party. It seemed the others were her shadows, they never left her alone for only a moment. When Keiko asked Botan about it, she simply said that Kagome was prone to accident and she was too precious to them to let her out of their sight, even if she was fully capable of defending herself should the need arise. Just when the fighters were about to call it a day and retired to their rooms, there was a knock on the door, in came a man and two women, all clad in unusual clothes. The very handsome man with wise violet eyes was wearing some kind of purple robes, which was recognized as a monk clothing, from 500 years ago. The beautiful woman, who had a high pony tail, was wearing tight-fitted clothing, much like that Kohaku boy, only with different colours. She seemed to have come out of the book about the demon slayer in a time when demons still roamed freely among humans. The last woman, on the other hand, had a lopsided pony tail and was wearing a checked orange kimono. Curious enough, she had a crescent moon on her forehead, much like Lord Sesshoumaru's. The three of them walked bristly towards the taiyoukai, bowed and said: "Sesshoumaru sama, we had come to your summon. The castle is left in Jaken's charge, as your command."

Lord Sesshoumaru only sent them a nod of acknowledge, then, without any warning, the taijiya squealed and gave Kagome a bone breaking hug. "Kagome chan, we missed you so much. The castle is no fun without you." Meanwhile, her companion, faster than anyone expected from a human, had come to Botan's side "Lady Death, it's my honor to meet you again. Will you reconsider bearing my child?" And just as fast, an oar materialized in Botan's hand and hit him hard, rendered him unconscious. Then as though nothing had happened, Botan cheerfully said to the woman: "I'm so glad to see you again, Sango."

Hearing Botan's voice seemed to remind Sango that there were others inside the room, so she released Kagome (and gave the later much needed air in the process) and turned to them, then calmly introduced herself and her (now conscious) companion:

"I'm Sango, former taijiya. Now I'm the second in command of Sesshoumaru sama's army. That girl over there is Rin, Heiress of the Western Land and Shippo's mate-to-be. This lecherous monk is Miroku, who is supposed to be the commander of said army. If you decide to introduce any girl to him, I suggest that you keep a close eye on his hands, because he most likely will..." she suddenly hit him with the giant boomerang she was carrying with her the whole time, effectively stopped his hand from wandering any further on her backside then continued nonchalantly "…grope any girls that come near him."

"But I only appreciate the beauty surrounding me. You must've known that my heart belongs only to you, my dear Sango. Beside, my hand is cursed."

"Don't Sango me. The only curse on your hands is the curse _he _had managed to place on your grand father. I swear, your blood is cursed too."

Their antics had the guys sweatdropped, Kuwabara protested loudly (something about gentleman code), while the girls simultaneously took a cautious step back. The youkai in the room just looked on, acting like this was a totally normal occurrence. The only comment they had was "that idiot will never learn".

_'_**I like him. He certainly had many kitsune's nature. His technique needs working on, though.**_'_

_'__It figures that you'd like some fellow pervert__.'_

_'_**Hmm, and it seems like another puzzle had presented itself. They appeared human, a taijiya and a monk as that, but if it is the case then how are they Lord Sesshoumaru's commanders and heiress? The girl appeared to be no older than seventeen but how can her eyes held such wisdom?**_'_

'_They are wearing such ancient clothes that if I don't know any better, I would say they are more than 500 years old or they all come from an era, Sengoku Jidai, perhaps?_'

'**Yes, and Hiei seemed to know these three as well**'

Just as Youko's words, there was an odd expression on Hiei's face, looking very much like an awkward mixture of horror, apprehension and resignation. Kurama couldn't help but ask:

'_Is something wrong, Hiei?_'

'_**Nothing is wrong, other than the hellcat and the fire player has come. Now I'm screwed.**_'

It was not exaggerated to say that both Kurama and Youko were taken back by the hybrid's tone. It still didn't stop Youko from pushing his button, though.

'**What's that? Is it just me or did shorty sounds scared?**'

'_**I don't have time to deal with your tasteless jokes. Wait until I return**_'

To say that Kurama and Youko were stunned into silence was an understatement. Hiei was willingly to back down from an argument, mentally or not. And then, the strangest thing happened. Just when Hiei looked as though he was ready to bolt, Sango spotted him. Everything happened at once: Hiei used his full speed in an attempt to out run a seemingly human woman, Sango quickly intercepted his path and hugged him, Shippo and InuYasha burst out laughing, Kagome, Kikyou, Rin and Kagura giggled while Lord Sesshoumaru's lips twitched upward.

"Ah, little Hihi, how are you? How could you just up and go without giving Auntie a goodbye? We've been very worried about you. What if you run into a car? Or meet a giant spider? Or abducted by some bad guy?"

"Woa, this …this is… hilarious…Lit…little Hihi…Woahahaha" Yusuke burst out laughing, so much that he couldn't stand on his old legs and so did Youko (in Kurama's mind).

"I suggest you stop laughing if you still value that tongue of yours, detective. And you, how many time did I tell you not to call me by that name? It is worse than calling Sesshoumaru Fluffy."

A growl was heard, coming from Lord Flu…Sesshoumaru had Kagome and the others shed tears of mirth. That last statement did the last straw, Youko couldn't even form his any comments. And if he was in his physical form, he would faint from lack of air at the moment. And the only thing that stopped the Reikai tantei's mirth was…

"Then would you mind telling me how the heck did you get caught while stealing a sword? A sword, in Reikai vault? The place famous for not even having a decent guard. Where did all of my teachings, all of your trainings go? And you couldn't even keep it, let alone bring it back? Not to mention you were defeated by a newly appointed detective, not an experienced one. Lucky shot or not, you underestimated your opponent. What did I tell you, Hiei? Never, never, never look down on your opponent, no matter how weak they appear or what race they are. You idiot," Sango's mood change from motherly to that of a banshee. It gave everyone shiver.

'**Remind me never to get on her bad side. Women are scary. She wasn't even angry at him for stealing, just that he failed in doing so. No wonder Hiei called her a hellcat.**'

'_Indeed. And did she imply that she was the one who taught Hiei how to fight?_'

"Now, Sango, please calm down. I believe Hiei has learnt his lesson, haven't you?" Miroku was quick to jump in and save his nephew's life, lest his furious wife devour him in her rage.

"Of course, Uncle Miroku."

'_Even Hiei knows to fear the fury of a woman and show gratitude to his rescuer. After all, hell's fire can not compare to women' wrath_.'

'**I wonder how Kagome would look when she is furious?**'

'_Not now, Youko_.'

As Kurama was busy trying to stop Youko from further damaging their reputation (which was near to pristine white and on the verge of being irreparably destroyed), he almost missed the next surprise that their new friends continued to bring forth. The third new comer, who had yet made a scene, decided to draw some attention to herself by adding up Hiei's embarrassment.

"Hiei nii sama, where have you been all this time? Why didn't you send Rin any words? Rin was so worried. Are you mad at Rin? Did Rin do anything wrong? Did you decide to abandon Rin?" While saying this, Rin's lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. As an experienced womanizer, Youko had no trouble recognized the telltale signs of a drama queen, and obviously, so did almost everyone else, when those crystal tears didn't (supposedly) fall because any of them. Everyone excluding Hiei. The fire apparition was, after all, a male and males are always weak at their knees at the sight of a crying female, no matter what species she was. "This Hiei has no such intention"

That was the first time any of them had heard Hiei sounded remotely helpless like that. The lost expression was just another bonus that held back Kurama, the ever sympathetic guy, from rescuing his distraught friend. Luckily (for Hiei at least), Kagome finally took pity on her adopted son and calmly said: "Quit teasing your cousin, Rin chan! Sango has already given him enough trouble to last a life time."

Then Shippo just had to put in his two cent:" Yeah, he's already on the point of breaking down. You know he only talks like Sesshoumaru sama when he's nervous."

"You don't know what you're talking about, fox," a glare was sent," And Rin, I've only been gone for little more than two years. It was nothing to us. You should know better than worry about something so trivial," he said to the girl, in a much softer and gentler voice.

"But Hiei nii sama, everyone knows that whenever you and uncle Inuyasha takes on a challenge, nothing good ever comes out of if. Promise me you wouldn't listen to his idiotic dare again," with puppy eyes she said.

Hiei seemed to signed in relief before he smirked:" Fine, I promise I won't," surprised gasps were heard here and there, "in a decade or two"

Rin only huffed when everyone just laughed. No one noticed Yukina's eyes dimmed slightly in sadness but Kagome. "What's wrong, Yukina?" she gently asked.

"No, nothing wrong, I only wondered, well, where my brother is," was her answer.

That got the new comers and the others flinched and Kagome was the one replied, in an imperceptibly strained voice: "Don't worry, he might be nearer than you think. Or better, he might've always watched over you." All eyes flicked towards Hiei, while he simple glared at his fellow detectives.

"Maybe you are right, Miss Kagome"

"I'm positive. And please, no formality, that makes me feel old. Just Kagome."

"That's because you are old," Kurama could faintly catch InuYasha's mumble. Surprisingly, so did Kagome. "What did you say, InuYasha?" she smiled sweetly at him, too sweetly.

"Uh, oh, nothing, really, Kagome, nothing at all."

"Oh, I beg no difference. You are going down. Please, Kikyou!"

The other woman, Kikyou, too, started to smirk dangerously: "With pleasure. InuYasha, osuwari!"

Immediately, InuYasha went headfirst to the floor, created a hanyou shape crater. His curses could still be heard echoed from the bottom of the crater. The new group's women, just shook their head and exasperately said: "Men, they will never learn," ignoring the men' protests.

'**See that, Red? One less opponents**_'_

_'__What do you mean, Youko?__'_

_'_**Rin is Sesshoumaru's heiress and she called Kagome's son cousin, therefore Kagome must sort of be Sesshoumaru's sister. Though he might prove to be an obstacle, at least we don't have to worry about competing with such a formidable demon, not that it will make any different. The same will be said for Kouga, since I heard he's already taken a mate**_'_

'_Yes. And Hiei's adopted family seems to know about Yukina, too. I wonder how much do they know about us. And there is still the question about Kagome role in this mess. And could what Hiei said earlier to Rin means that she has the lifespan of a youkai, or at least a hanyou?_'

'**Yeah, And I really want to know where these new discoveries might lead us to. We just have to wait for all the pieces of this puzzle to come to us.**'

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………_**.**_

_ATTENTION, please! REVIEWS, people! And if you like to suggest anything, just tell me, I'll consider and dedicate that chapter to you if I use it. By the way, please don't tell me that Hiei's nickname sounds ridiculuos. I've already known_

_**Next time:**__Good bye and see you soon._


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